Grain-sampler.



T. L. JAMES & W. H. BEESON.

GRAIN SAMPLER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. s. 1915.

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Im: mums PETERS ma.4 Pnnmnmm. wAsnINcmn. u c.

T.' L. JAMES & W. H. BEESON.

GRAIN SAMPLER.

APPucATloN FILED nous. 1915.

Patented June 12, 1917.

2 SHEETSAHE'ET z.

m Eeeson,

THOMAS LISTER JAMES, 0F HIGHER TRANMERE, AND WILLIAM HENRY BEESON, OF ROCK FERRY, ENGLAND.

GRAIN -SAMPLER.

Application led November 6, 1915.

To all ttl/0m t may concern.'

Be it known that we, THOMAS LISTER JAMES, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and residing in Higher Tranmere, in the county of Chester, England, and lli/'infami HENRY BnssoN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and residing in Rock Ferry, in the county of Chester, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Samplers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for ascertaining the temperatures 0f, and for taking samples from granular and the like material stowed in bulk, and is particularly applicable in the case of wheat or corn stowed in bulk, in ships holds or in grain warehouses.

The invention is illustrated in the. accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows the general arrangement, Fig. 2 is an elevation in longitudinal section to a larger scale of the lower portion of the tubular' structure showing the bucket in the position therein which it occupies prior to the opening of the port; Fig. 2A is a fragment of Fig. 2 to a larger scale, Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but shows the bucket in the position' which it occupies after the port is opened. Fig. l is a view partly in longitudinal section and partly in outside View, of the mode of jointing the successive lengths of the tubular drill; Fig. 5 is a view in transverse section to a larger scale of the device by means of which the port is controlled through the medium of the bucket; Figs. 6 and 7 are transverse sections to a larger scale, on the lines Vl, VI and VII, VII, respectively of Figs. 5 and 3; Fig. 8 is a View of the device for rotating the tubular drill, and Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14: are views of a modilication, Figs. 9 and 10 being longitudinal sections similar to Figs. 2 and 3, Fig. 11 showing a modified form of joint, and Figs. 12, 13 and 14 showmodified forms of turning devices for imparting rotary movement to the tubular drill.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 8,-

A is the lowermost length of the tubular drill; B are the upper lengths which are added in succession as the drill penetrates the corn or other material, and C is the device by means of which'rotary motion is imparted to the tubular drill; the length A which is closed at the bottom, is provided Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 12, 1917.

Serial No. 60,092.

with a pointed end c1 and a port D, and is litted with a sleeve E which normally closes the port D. rlhe lower end ef each upper length is provided with a coupler F which is adapted to lit over the upper end of the pre ceding length, the upper ends being notched as at f1 and the lower ends being notched as at ,f2 so as to form engaging jaws adapted to transmit torque from one length to the other. rThe upper end of the coupler F is secured by brazing or 'the like to the lower end of each length B, and the lower end of the coupler is adapted to lit over the upper end of any 0f the lengths and is provided with a screw f3 fitting a screw-threaded boss j, the nose f5 of the screw being adapted to fit in holes ,f6 formed in the upper end of each length.

The driven part of the preferred form of the device C for rotating the tubular drill is a duplicate of the lower end of the lengths B, that is to say, it comprises a length of tube with notches f2 at the lower end and a coupler F with boss f4 and screws f3.

The coupler F is mounted on a spindle c1 carried in a vertical bearing` in the bracket 02,' at the upper end a bevel wheel c3 is keyed to the spindle c1, and a bevel pinion c4 keyed to a shaft c5 carried in bearings in the bracket c2 gears with the bevel wheel c3. The shaft c5 is articulated to a shaft c by the universal coupling cs; the lower part of the shaft 06 is hollow and a'square extension shaft c7 fits telescopically in a square bore of c so that while c7 rotates with c the length of the combination c, c7, can be adjusted.

The extension c7 is in turn articulated by the universal coupling 017 to the shaft c carried on a bracket 01 and adapted to be operated by a handle'cll.

The bracket 010 is provided with a flange cl2 and clamping screw 013 by means of which the bracket may be detachably secured to a hatch coaming or any other suitable fiXed supporting part cls. The bracket 02 is prevented from rotating about a vertical aXis by means of the rod c, the jaw 015 of which is pinned to the bracket c2 and to the tail of which a stirrup c1 is fitted which embraces the shaft c".

The lowermost length A is provided with a helical propeller a2 which fits on an eX- ternal sleeve a3 secured to the lowermost section A, and is held in place axially on the said sleeve between the flange a4 and nut a5,

the latter being fitted with a spring a6 arranged in a circumferential notch in the nut and having a radial portion normally pressed inwardly and adapted to engage with a hole in the sleeve a3 and so prevent the nut from backing olf.

If the lowermost `part A be inserted in say a cargo of grain on board ship and the coupler F of the turning ydevice be fitted to the upper' endk of this length it will be seen that on being rotated the helical propeller will cause this length to screw into the grain; when the greater part of this length is inserted the upper length B is fitted to the length A and the coupler F of the -turning device fitted to the upperlength B, the connected lengths being rotatedruntil the part B is almost ysubmerged in the grain whereupon additional lengths are similarly fitted and rotated until the desired length of sectional tubular drill is obtained,lthis length being of course depend' ent on the depth of the grain, in say, the hold'of theship.

In order to ascertain the temperature of the grain, a thermometer provided withl a maximum indicatingdevice is lowered into the tubular drill through the y upper end thereof, temperature being taken at succesvsive vertical depths ask the drill is screwed into the grain.

It is necessary in order to ascertain the condition of the grain that samples thereof should be taken at several levels and in order to accomplish this the bucket Gr is lowered into the bore of the tubular drill, the weight of the bucket being utilized to depress the sleeve E which opens the port D and allows the grain to enter and to fill the bucket.

The construction of the bucket and sleeve and the means by which the former actuates the latter are as follows The bucket comprises a lower part g1, the bottom of which is closed by a stopper plug g2 which can be withdrawn to empty the grain, and which is connected to the bucket byra chain 931 to prevent the loss thereof,

and an upper part g3 which is loaded by filling it with a lead core grt, the length of the core being sufficient to give the necessary Vweight to the bucket; an eyelet g5 is attached to the 'upper end of the bucket .and takes the cord g by which the bucket'is raised and lowered. The upper and lower parts of the bucket are connected together by a bridge-piece the 'lower part gl Vof which screws'onto the upper endof the part g1 and the upper endg8 of which Vis connected to the lower end kg7 bya plurality of narrow connecting pieces '99, said 'upper end screwing onto the lower partfof a plug g1", the uppper ypart'of which 4screws into the upper part vg3 of the bucket; the bridge-k piece thus serves to connect the upper and 1 'lower parts of the bucket together and yet" leaves comparatively free access to the lower part of thebucket through the opened upper end thereof, when the latter is below the portD, as in Fig. 3.

rlhe port D is formed in the sleeve a? as 7S well as in the wall ofthe length A, and the' -lar detents or engaging surfaces el and e2; S0

the stopper g? at the bottom of the bucket has a transverse recess g11 at theropposite ends of which are located two `hard metal balls g; the balls are pressed outwardly by an interposed spring 912, and the -ends of the transverse recess are so shaped that while they allow -the balls to protrude, the openings in the end thereof do not allow the balls to be pressed out altogether. Y

r)The pointed end t1 screws into the lower 90 end of the length A and has an extension a7 provided with a transverse recess adapted to take the balls a and spring a9 which are arranged Iafter the manner just described in connection with the balls g. The upper end of the extension c7 is fitted with a washer am.

The action of this part of the .apparatus is as follows;-

Normally the sleeve E lies a little higher than the position shown in Fig. 2 being sup- 100 ported by the engagement of the lower detent e2 with the lballs a," when the bucket G is lowered -into the bore of the tubular drill the balls g meeting the inclined surfaces of the upper detent el are pressed in and pass the detent c1, the force necessary being less than that required to force the detent c2 over the balls a. Then the shoulder formeda by the end g7 of the bridge-piece engages with the top of the sleeve E (see Fig. 2) the 11o sleeve is pressed downwardly by the total weight of the bucket, andV this is sufcient, especially if percussion is resorted to, to force the lower detent e2 past the balls a whereupon the'port D is opened as the 115 bucket Gr and sleeve E descend together, being fully opened when they reach the lowermost position as shown in Fig. 3. The tubular drill is then rotated to and fro and causes the grain to enter through the port D and 12o the edge Z1 of the port, thus closing the port, whereupon further movement of the sleeve is arrested by the engagement between the detent e2 and the washer am. When the bucket is withdrawn the sleeve is prevented from dropping by the engagement of the under face of the detent e2 with the balls e. lVhen the bucket is withdrawn from the tubular drill the sample taken therein may be conveniently released by screwing out the stopper g2 or by inverting the bucket. y

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 9, l0, l1 and l2, A is the lowermost length and the port D is closed by a spring controlled sleeve E', the bucket G as before is weighted and is suliiciently heavy to depress the sleeve E in opposition to the spring.

In this construction the sleeve is provided with a hollow tail piece e3 into which projects the stopper spindle am, the head als of which fits the the seating e4 of the bottom of the tail piece and limits the upward movement of the tail piece and the sleeve, see Fig. 9. A spiral spring e5 is interposed between the plug 0:14 (which closes the bottom vof the lowermost length A) and the shoulder es of the tail piece, which spring is suficiently powerful to move the sleeve into its upper position shown in Fig. 9 in which it closes the port D. In Fig. 10 the bucket Gr is shown lowered into position, the stopper 913 which is attached to the bucket by a bayonet joint and closes the lower end thereof comes into Contact withthe bar e7 fixed across the sleeve E, the weight of the 'bucket causing the sleeve to be depressed into the position shown in Fig. 10 in which position the port D is opened, the upper weighted part g14 of the bucket is as in the arrangement already described connected to the lower part by side pieces Q15 which permit access to the grain from the port D into the bucket. Fig. l1 shows the mode of connecting the successive lengths by means of a coupler F of hexagonal conguration; couplers F are attached by brazing to the upper end of the lowermost length A and to the upper end of each of the upper lengths B and the abutting surfaces of the lengths A and B are notched as before to take the turning torque. v

The successive lengths are rotated by means of a wrench II having a central hexagonal opening h1 which fits the coupler Fl and is held in place thereon by a spring controlled snap bolt i-Z; lever arm or arms 7L fitted in one or other of the several sockets being held in position by the pin 71.5 which fits in a hole in the socket and a hole in the lever.

A similar wrench I-I may be provided to rotate the several lengths of the tubular drill as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8; in this case instead of the wrench having a heXagon opening it is fitted with a coupler F" similar in construction to the coupler F fitted on the turning device C, see Fig. 8.

While we have described the drill as being inserted vertically into the material, it may be inserted horizontally into the material, in which case the cordg6 would be replaced by a member capable of transmitting a thrust.

The length A as well as the sleeve E is preferably provided with a series of perforations small enough to prevent the passage therethrough of the granular material, the object of the perforations being to insure the interior of the length A quickly reaching the temperature of the bulk of the grain. These perforations kare shown at ax.

Having now fully described our invention, we declare that what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is :rf-

l. The improved apparatus for ascertaining the temperature of and for taking samples from granular or the like material stowed in bulk, consisting of a tubular drill open at one end and closed at the other and having near the closed end a through port, said drill being provided with a helical propeller; means for rotating the drill; a bucket adapted to be introduced into the tubular drill until the open top of the bucket reaches a point beyond the port; and means which normally close the port and adapted to be moved clear of the port by contact with the bucket; substantially asl described.

2. In apparatus for ascertaining the temperature of and for taking samples from granular or the like material stowed in bulk, in combination; a tubular drill arranged in sections adapted to be non-rotatably coupled together, the lowermost section being provided with a helical propeller and a through port; means for rotating the drill; a bucket adapted to be introduced into the tubular drill until the open top of the bucket reaches a point beyond the port; and means which normally close the port and adapted to be moved clear of the port by contact with the bucket; substantially as described.

3. In a device for ascertaining the temperature of and for taking samples from granular or the like material stowed in bulk, in combination; a tubular drill fitted with a propeller and a through port; means for rotating the drill; a sleeve normally adapted to close the port; and a bucket adapted to be introduced into the drill to pass into the said sleeve and to move it clear of the said port; substantially as described.

4. In a device for ascertaining the temperature of and for taking samples from granular or the like material stowed in bulk, in combination; a tubular drill fitted with a propeller and a through port; means for rotating the drill; a sleeve provided with a detent; a bucket adapted to be introduced into the drill and to enter the said sleeve,

Y zo..

said bucket being`- provided with elastically controlled means adapted to engage said detent, and With means Which engage the sleeve 'and mo-vefit clear of t-he port7 the engagement of the' said elastically controlled means with the detent' being adapted asthe bucket is Withdrawn to return'the sleeve to the normal lposition in which itr closes the said port; substantially as described.

5; In a device for ascertaining the temperaturef of and for taking samples from granular ort-he like material stowed in bulk, in combination; a tubular drill fitted With a' propeller and a through port; means for rotating the drill;l a. sleevev provided With a detent; elastically controlled means cony` nected to' thev tubular drill adapted to engage the said detent and toy elastieally hold the sleeve inthe positionl in which it 'closes the port; a second detent on the sleeve; a bucket adapted to be introduced into the Copies of this'patent mayl he2 obtained for drill and provided with means adapted to engage the said sleeve and to move itin opposition tothe said elastically controlled means into a position in Which the port is open, said bucket being,` provided With elastically controlledv means adapted to engage the said second' detent in opposition to the iirstr mentioned elastieally controlled means and to move the sleeve into a position in which the port is open, and as the bucket is Withdrawn to return the sleeve into thev position in which it closes the port; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof We aiiiX our signatures in presence of tivo Witnesses.

THoMAs LIfsTER JAMES. WILLIAM HENRYY BEESON.

Witnesses: Y

J. E. LLOYDBARNES,` JOSEPH E.- Iflnasfr.k Y

five cents each,k by addressing the Commissioner of- Patents, Washington, D. 0; 

